Landing an autonomous drone with gestures

ABSTRACT

Systems, computer readable medium and methods for landing an autonomous drone with gestures are disclosed. Example methods include lifting off the autonomous drone in response to an instruction from a person, receiving sensor data, and processing the sensor data to identify a gesture from the person that indicates that the autonomous drone is to land. The autonomous drone recognizes a gesture from a person to land where the gesture is based on a physical movement of the person. In response, the autonomous drone navigates to land the autonomous drone. In some examples, the person presents an open palm to the autonomous drone which causes the autonomous drone to fly to and land on the open palm. In some examples, the person places a hand under the autonomous drone which causes the autonomous drone to land. In some examples, the autonomous drone responds to the person that launched the autonomous drone.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 63/335,392, filed Apr. 27, 2022, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Examples of the present disclosure relate generally to landing anautonomous drone with gestures. More particularly, but not by way oflimitation, the present disclosure addresses systems and methods for anautonomous drone to recognize a gesture performed by a user of theautonomous drone such as the user gesturing by holding an open palm andthe autonomous drone navigating to the open palm to land.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous drones that provide photographic services to users arebecoming more and more popular. But autonomous drone designs are limitedby size and power constraints. And users of autonomous drones continueto demand more and more services from the autonomous drones. Moreover,the autonomous drones need to be safe to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. To easily identifythe discussion of any particular element or act, the most significantdigit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number inwhich that element is first introduced. Some non-limiting examples areillustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a networked environment inwhich the present disclosure may be deployed, in accordance with someexamples.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a messaging system, inaccordance with some examples, that has both client-side and server-sidefunctionality.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a data structure asmaintained in a database, in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a message, in accordance withsome examples.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for an access-limiting process, in accordance withsome examples.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of components for an autonomous drone, inaccordance with some examples.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an autonomous drone system,in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 8 illustrates an autonomous drone, in accordance with someexamples.

FIG. 9 illustrates a system for excess wind detection in an autonomousdrone, in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 10 illustrates detection of a gesture, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates detection of a gesture, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method for landing an autonomous drone withgestures, in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions may be executed forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a software architecture within whichexamples may be implemented.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of a processing environment, inaccordance with some examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative examples of the disclosure. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide an understanding of various examplesof the inventive subject matter. It will be evident, however, to thoseskilled in the art, that examples of the inventive subject matter may bepracticed without these specific details. In general, well-knowninstruction instances, protocols, structures, and techniques are notnecessarily shown in detail.

Systems, computer readable medium and methods for navigation correctionfor excessive wind in an autonomous drone are disclosed. Excessive windscan be a particular problem for small autonomous drones as safety andretrieval of the autonomous drones is important and the autonomousdrones often have limited thrust and batteries. Autonomous drones aredisclosed that detect and correct flight plans when excessive winds aredetected. The autonomous drone determines based on the severity of theexcessive winds whether to return to a home position which is typicallya position of a user of the autonomous drone or to land in place. If theexcessive winds subside, then the autonomous drone returns to itsoriginal flight plan at the point where the autonomous drone was blownoff course by the excessive winds. The autonomous drone detectsexcessive winds either directly by sensor data or inferentially byunanticipated movement of the autonomous drone.

Examples herein describe systems, methods, and computer readable mediafor landing an autonomous drone with gestures. Designing a personalautonomous drone can be challenging to meet various designspecifications and constraints. One challenge is to balance between thebattery life and power usage, which is often further compounded by formfactors. It is desirable that the autonomous drone is light-weighted andportable. For example, the user may want to hike with the autonomousdrone or take the autonomous drone with them to a beach holiday inanother country. In some examples, the autonomous drones are about thesize of a hand. The autonomous drone typically includes a battery forpowering itself and a camera for recording photographs and videos.

Moreover, the autonomous drone 710 needs to be safe to use and readilyretrievable. For example, the autonomous drone 710 cannot crash intopeople or objects. The autonomous drone 710 determines a flight planfrom a predetermined flight plan. For example, a predetermined flightplan is for the autonomous drone 710 to take-off and fly three feet froma person's head in a 360-degree circle around the person's head whiletaking a video.

A technical problem is how to instruct the autonomous drone 710 to landwithout the use of a controller or a second device. In some examples,the technical problem is addressed by the autonomous drone 710recognizing gestures performed by a person and responding to thegestures by landing on an indicated landing platform. For example, theautonomous drone 710 may be in the middle of the 360-degree circlearound the person's head when the person decides that the autonomousdrone needs to end its flight immediately and return to the person. Theperson may make a gesture of an open palm in front of their body that isrecognized by the autonomous drone 710, which navigates to the person'spalm and lands.

The autonomous drone 710 only responds to gestures from the person thatlaunched or unlocked the autonomous drone, in accordance with someexamples. In some examples, the autonomous drone 710 maintains a camerapointed towards the person that launched or unlocked the autonomousdrone 710 so that the autonomous drone 710 may recognize gesturesperformed by the person. The autonomous drone 710 recognizes othergestures such as an object or hand placed under the autonomous drone 710as a gesture for the autonomous drone to land on the hand or object.

Networked Computing Environment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple instances of a client device102, each of which hosts a number of applications, including a messagingclient 104 and other applications 106. Each messaging client 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging client 104(e.g., hosted on respective other client devices 102), a messagingserver system 108 and third-party servers 110 via a network 112 (e.g.,the Internet). A messaging client 104 can also communicate withlocally-hosted applications 106 using Applications Program Interfaces(APIs).

A messaging client 104 is able to communicate and exchange data withother messaging clients 104 and with the messaging server system 108 viathe network 112. The data exchanged between messaging clients 104, andbetween a messaging client 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 112 to a particular messaging client 104. While certainfunctions of the messaging system 100 are described herein as beingperformed by either a messaging client 104 or by the messaging serversystem 108, the location of certain functionality either within themessaging client 104 or the messaging server system 108 may be a designchoice. For example, it may be technically preferable to initiallydeploy certain technology and functionality within the messaging serversystem 108 but to later migrate this technology and functionality to themessaging client 104 where a client device 102 has sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client 104. Such operations includetransmitting data to, receiving data from, and processing data generatedby the messaging client 104. This data may include message content,client device information, geolocation information, media augmentationand overlays, message content persistence conditions, social networkinformation, and live event information, as examples. Data exchangeswithin the messaging system 100 are invoked and controlled throughfunctions available via user interfaces (UIs) of the messaging client104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 116 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, application servers 114. Theapplication servers 114 are communicatively coupled to a database server120, which facilitates access to a database 126 that stores dataassociated with messages processed by the application servers 114.Similarly, a web server 128 is coupled to the application servers 114,and provides web-based interfaces to the application servers 114. Tothis end, the web server 128 processes incoming network requests overthe Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and several other relatedprotocols.

The Application Program Interface (API) server 116 receives andtransmits message data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between theclient device 102 and the application servers 114. Specifically, theApplication Program Interface (API) server 116 provides a set ofinterfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that can be called or queriedby the messaging client 104 in order to invoke functionality of theapplication servers 114. The Application Program Interface (API) server116 exposes various functions supported by the application servers 114,including account registration, login functionality, the sending ofmessages, via the application servers 114, from a particular messagingclient 104 to another messaging client 104, the sending of media files(e.g., images or video) from a messaging client 104 to a messagingserver 118, and for possible access by another messaging client 104, thesettings of a collection of media data (e.g., story), the retrieval of alist of friends of a user of a client device 102, the retrieval of suchcollections, the retrieval of messages and content, the addition anddeletion of entities (e.g., friends) to an entity graph (e.g., a socialgraph), the location of friends within a social graph, and opening anapplication event (e.g., relating to the messaging client 104).

The application servers 114 host a number of server applications andsubsystems, including for example a messaging server 118, an imageprocessing server 122, and a social network server 124. The messagingserver 118 implements a number of message processing technologies andfunctions, particularly related to the aggregation and other processingof content (e.g., textual and multimedia content) included in messagesreceived from multiple instances of the messaging client 104. As will bedescribed in further detail, the text and media content from multiplesources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., calledstories or galleries). These collections are then made available to themessaging client 104. Other processor and memory intensive processing ofdata may also be performed server-side by the messaging server 118, inview of the hardware requirements for such processing.

The application servers 114 also include an image processing server 122that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video within the payload of amessage sent from or received at the messaging server 118.

The social network server 124 supports various social networkingfunctions and services and makes these functions and services availableto the messaging server 118. To this end, the social network server 124maintains and accesses an entity graph 308 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) withinthe database 126. Examples of functions and services supported by thesocial network server 124 include the identification of other users ofthe messaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationshipsor is “following,” and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user.

Returning to the messaging client 104, features and functions of anexternal resource (e.g., an application 106 or applet) are madeavailable to a user via an interface of the messaging client 104. Inthis context, “external” refers to the fact that the application 106 orapplet is external to the messaging client 104. The external resource isoften provided by a third party but may also be provided by the creatoror provider of the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104receives a user selection of an option to launch or access features ofsuch an external resource. The external resource may be the application106 installed on the client device 102 (e.g., a “native app”), or asmall-scale version of the application (e.g., an “applet”) that ishosted on the client device 102 or remote of the client device 102(e.g., on third-party servers 110). The small-scale version of theapplication includes a subset of features and functions of theapplication (e.g., the full-scale, native version of the application)and is implemented using a markup-language document. In one example, thesmall-scale version of the application (e.g., an “applet”) is aweb-based, markup-language version of the application and is embedded inthe messaging client 104. In addition to using markup-language documents(e.g., a .*ml file), an applet may incorporate a scripting language(e.g., a .*js file or a .json file) and a style sheet (e.g., a .*ssfile).

In response to receiving a user selection of the option to launch oraccess features of the external resource, the messaging client 104determines whether the selected external resource is a web-basedexternal resource or a locally-installed application 106. In some cases,applications 106 that are locally installed on the client device 102 canbe launched independently of and separately from the messaging client104, such as by selecting an icon, corresponding to the application 106,on a home screen of the client device 102. Small-scale versions of suchapplications can be launched or accessed via the messaging client 104and, in some examples, no or limited portions of the small-scaleapplication can be accessed outside of the messaging client 104. Thesmall-scale application can be launched by the messaging client 104receiving, from a third-party server 110 for example, a markup-languagedocument associated with the small-scale application and processing sucha document.

In response to determining that the external resource is alocally-installed application 106, the messaging client 104 instructsthe client device 102 to launch the external resource by executinglocally-stored code corresponding to the external resource. In responseto determining that the external resource is a web-based resource, themessaging client 104 communicates with the third-party servers 110 (forexample) to obtain a markup-language document corresponding to theselected external resource. The messaging client 104 then processes theobtained markup-language document to present the web-based externalresource within a user interface of the messaging client 104.

The messaging client 104 can notify a user of the client device 102, orother users related to such a user (e.g., “friends”), of activity takingplace in one or more external resources. For example, the messagingclient 104 can provide participants in a conversation (e.g., a chatsession) in the messaging client 104 with notifications relating to thecurrent or recent use of an external resource by one or more members ofa group of users. One or more users can be invited to join in an activeexternal resource or to launch a recently-used but currently inactive(in the group of friends) external resource. The external resource canprovide participants in a conversation, each using respective messagingclients 104, with the ability to share an item, status, state, orlocation in an external resource with one or more members of a group ofusers into a chat session. The shared item may be an interactive chatcard with which members of the chat can interact, for example, to launchthe corresponding external resource, view specific information withinthe external resource, or take the member of the chat to a specificlocation or state within the external resource. Within a given externalresource, response messages can be sent to users on the messaging client104. The external resource can selectively include different media itemsin the responses, based on a current context of the external resource.

The messaging client 104 can present a list of the available externalresources (e.g., applications 106 or applets) to a user to launch oraccess a given external resource. This list can be presented in acontext-sensitive menu. For example, the icons representing differentones of the application 106 (or applets) can vary based on how the menuis launched by the user (e.g., from a conversation interface or from anon-conversation interface).

System Architecture

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to some examples. Specifically, themessaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging client 104 andthe application servers 114. The messaging system 100 embodies a numberof subsystems, which are supported on the client-side by the messagingclient 104 and on the server-side by the application servers 114. Thesesubsystems include, for example, an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204, an augmentation system 208, a mapsystem 210, a game system 212, an external resource system 214, and anautonomous drone management system 216.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary or time-limited access to content by the messaging client 104and the messaging server 118. The ephemeral timer system 202incorporates a number of timers that, based on duration and displayparameters associated with a message, or collection of messages (e.g., astory), selectively enable access (e.g., for presentation and display)to messages and associated content via the messaging client 104. Furtherdetails regarding the operation of the ephemeral timer system 202 areprovided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managing sets orcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video, and audiodata). A collection of content (e.g., messages, including images, video,text, and audio) may be organized into an “event gallery” or an “eventstory.” Such a collection may be made available for a specified timeperiod, such as the duration of an event to which the content relates.For example, content relating to a music concert may be made availableas a “story” for the duration of that music concert. The collectionmanagement system 204 may also be responsible for publishing an iconthat provides notification of the existence of a particular collectionto the user interface of the messaging client 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 206 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface206 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certain examples,compensation may be paid to a user for the inclusion of user-generatedcontent into a collection. In such cases, the collection managementsystem 204 operates to automatically make payments to such users for theuse of their content.

The augmentation system 208 provides various functions that enable auser to augment (e.g., annotate or otherwise modify or edit) mediacontent associated with a message. For example, the augmentation system208 provides functions related to the generation and publishing of mediaoverlays for messages processed by the messaging system 100. Theaugmentation system 208 operatively supplies a media overlay oraugmentation (e.g., an image filter) to the messaging client 104 basedon a geolocation of the client device 102. In another example, theaugmentation system 208 operatively supplies a media overlay to themessaging client 104 based on other information, such as social networkinformation of the user of the client device 102. A media overlay mayinclude audio and visual content and visual effects. Examples of audioand visual content include pictures, texts, logos, animations, and soundeffects. An example of a visual effect includes color overlaying. Theaudio and visual content or the visual effects can be applied to a mediacontent item (e.g., a photo, a digital object,) at the client device102. For example, the media overlay may include text or image that canbe overlaid on top of a photograph taken by the client device 102. Inanother example, the media overlay includes an identification of alocation overlay (e.g., Venice beach), a name of a live event, or a nameof a merchant overlay (e.g., Beach Coffee House). In another example,the augmentation system 208 uses the geolocation of the client device102 to identify a media overlay that includes the name of a merchant atthe geolocation of the client device 102. The media overlay may includeother indicia associated with the merchant. The media overlays may bestored in the database 126 and accessed through the database server 120.

In some examples, the augmentation system 208 provides a user-basedpublication platform that enables users to select a geolocation on a mapand upload content associated with the selected geolocation. The usermay also specify circumstances under which a particular media overlayshould be offered to other users. The augmentation system 208 generatesa media overlay that includes the uploaded content and associates theuploaded content with the selected geolocation.

In other examples, the augmentation system 208 provides a merchant-basedpublication platform that enables merchants to select a particular mediaoverlay associated with a geolocation via a bidding process. Forexample, the augmentation system 208 associates the media overlay of thehighest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocation for apredefined amount of time.

The map system 210 provides various geographic location functions andsupports the presentation of map-based media content and messages by themessaging client 104. For example, the map system 210 enables thedisplay of user icons or avatars (e.g., stored in profile data 316) on amap to indicate a current or past location of “friends” of a user, aswell as media content (e.g., collections of messages includingphotographs and videos) generated by such friends, within the context ofa map. For example, a message posted by a user to the messaging system100 from a specific geographic location may be displayed within thecontext of a map at that particular location to “friends” of a specificuser on a map interface of the messaging client 104. A user canfurthermore share his or her location and status information (e.g.,using an appropriate status avatar) with other users of the messagingsystem 100 via the messaging client 104, with this location and statusinformation being similarly displayed within the context of a mapinterface of the messaging client 104 to selected users.

The game system 212 provides various gaming functions within the contextof the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104 provides a gameinterface providing a list of available games that can be launched by auser within the context of the messaging client 104 and played withother users of the messaging system 100. The messaging system 100further enables a particular user to invite other users to participatein the play of a specific game, by issuing invitations to such otherusers from the messaging client 104. The messaging client 104 alsosupports both the voice and text messaging (e.g., chats) within thecontext of gameplay, provides a leaderboard for the games, and alsosupports the provision of in-game rewards (e.g., coins and items).

The external resource system 214 provides an interface for the messagingclient 104 to communicate with remote servers (e.g., third-party servers110) to launch or access external resources, i.e., applications orapplets. Each third-party server 110 hosts, for example, a markuplanguage (e.g., HTML5) based application or small-scale version of anapplication (e.g., game, utility, payment, or ride-sharing application).The messaging client 104 may launch a web-based resource (e.g.,application) by accessing the HTML5 file from the third-party servers110 associated with the web-based resource. In certain examples,applications hosted by third-party servers 110 are programmed inJavaScript leveraging a Software Development Kit (SDK) provided by themessaging server 118. The SDK includes Application ProgrammingInterfaces (APIs) with functions that can be called or invoked by theweb-based application. In certain examples, the messaging server 118includes a JavaScript library that provides a given external resourceaccess to certain user data of the messaging client 104. HTML5 is usedas an example technology for programming games, but applications andresources programmed based on other technologies can be used.

In order to integrate the functions of the SDK into the web-basedresource, the SDK is downloaded by a third-party server 110 from themessaging server 118 or is otherwise received by the third-party server110. Once downloaded or received, the SDK is included as part of theapplication code of a web-based external resource. The code of theweb-based resource can then call or invoke certain functions of the SDKto integrate features of the messaging client 104 into the web-basedresource.

The SDK stored on the messaging server 118 effectively provides thebridge between an external resource (e.g., applications 106 or appletsand the messaging client 104. This provides the user with a seamlessexperience of communicating with other users on the messaging client104, while also preserving the look and feel of the messaging client104. To bridge communications between an external resource and amessaging client 104, in certain examples, the SDK facilitatescommunication between third-party servers 110 and the messaging client104. In certain examples, a Web ViewJavaScriptBridge running on a clientdevice 102 establishes two one-way communication channels between anexternal resource and the messaging client 104. Messages are sentbetween the external resource and the messaging client 104 via thesecommunication channels asynchronously. Each SDK function invocation issent as a message and callback. Each SDK function is implemented byconstructing a unique callback identifier and sending a message withthat callback identifier.

By using the SDK, not all information from the messaging client 104 isshared with third-party servers 110. The SDK limits which information isshared based on the needs of the external resource. In certain examples,each third-party server 110 provides an HTML5 file corresponding to theweb-based external resource to the messaging server 118. The messagingserver 118 can add a visual representation (such as a box art or othergraphic) of the web-based external resource in the messaging client 104.Once the user selects the visual representation or instructs themessaging client 104 through a GUI of the messaging client 104 to accessfeatures of the web-based external resource, the messaging client 104obtains the HTML5 file and instantiates the resources necessary toaccess the features of the web-based external resource.

The messaging client 104 presents a graphical user interface (e.g., alanding page or title screen) for an external resource. During, before,or after presenting the landing page or title screen, the messagingclient 104 determines whether the launched external resource has beenpreviously authorized to access user data of the messaging client 104.In response to determining that the launched external resource has beenpreviously authorized to access user data of the messaging client 104,the messaging client 104 presents another graphical user interface ofthe external resource that includes functions and features of theexternal resource. In response to determining that the launched externalresource has not been previously authorized to access user data of themessaging client 104, after a threshold period of time (e.g., 3 seconds)of displaying the landing page or title screen of the external resource,the messaging client 104 slides up (e.g., animates a menu as surfacingfrom a bottom of the screen to a middle of or other portion of thescreen) a menu for authorizing the external resource to access the userdata. The menu identifies the type of user data that the externalresource will be authorized to use. In response to receiving a userselection of an accept option, the messaging client 104 adds theexternal resource to a list of authorized external resources and allowsthe external resource to access user data from the messaging client 104.In some examples, the external resource is authorized by the messagingclient 104 to access the user data in accordance with an OAuth 2framework.

The messaging client 104 controls the type of user data that is sharedwith external resources based on the type of external resource beingauthorized. For example, external resources that include full-scaleapplications (e.g., an application 106) are provided with access to afirst type of user data (e.g., only two-dimensional avatars of userswith or without different avatar characteristics). As another example,external resources that include small-scale versions of applications(e.g., web-based versions of applications) are provided with access to asecond type of user data (e.g., payment information, two-dimensionalavatars of users, three-dimensional avatars of users, and avatars withvarious avatar characteristics). Avatar characteristics includedifferent ways to customize a look and feel of an avatar, such asdifferent poses, facial features, clothing, and so forth.

The autonomous drone management system 216 provides functions androutines for managing an autonomous drone such as autonomous drone 710of FIGS. 7, 8, 10, and 11 . The autonomous drone management system 216determines values for thresholds 970 as discussed in conjunction withFIG. 9 and herein. The autonomous drone management system 216 sends thevalue for the thresholds 970 to the autonomous drone 710 for configuringthe autonomous drone 710. Additionally, the autonomous drone managementsystem 216 manages client devices 102 that provide services forautonomous drones, in accordance with some examples. For example, clientdevices 102, off-site client device 704, server 706, smartphone 708, oranother device may act as host devices to the autonomous drone 710 andcommunicate service requests to the autonomous drone management system216. Moreover, the functions of the autonomous drone management system216 may be wholly or partially performed by the client devices 102,off-site client device 704, server 706, smartphone 708, or anotherdevice.

In some examples, a control application is resident in a host devicesuch as the client devices 102, off-site client device 704, server 706,smartphone 708. For example, the control application enables the user toset thresholds, flight plans for the control knob, and otherpreferences.

Data Architecture

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data structures 300, whichmay be stored in the database 126 of the messaging server system 108,according to certain examples. While the content of the database 126 isshown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database 126 includes message data stored within a message table302. This message data includes, for any particular message, at leastmessage sender data, message recipient (or receiver) data, and apayload. Further details regarding information that may be included in amessage and included within the message data stored in the message table302 is described below with reference to FIG. 4 .

An entity table 306 stores entity data, and is linked (e.g.,referentially) to an entity graph 308 and profile data 316. Entities forwhich records are maintained within the entity table 306 may includeindividuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects, places, events,and so forth. Regardless of entity type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 308 stores information regarding relationships andassociations between entities. Such relationships may be social,professional (e.g., work at a common corporation or organization)interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The profile data 316 stores multiple types of profile data about aparticular entity. The profile data 316 may be selectively used andpresented to other users of the messaging system 100, based on privacysettings specified by a particular entity. Where the entity is anindividual, the profile data 316 includes, for example, a username,telephone number, address, settings (e.g., notification and privacysettings), as well as a user-selected avatar representation (orcollection of such avatar representations). A particular user may thenselectively include one or more of these avatar representations withinthe content of messages communicated via the messaging system 100, andon map interfaces displayed by messaging clients 104 to other users. Thecollection of avatar representations may include “status avatars,” whichpresent a graphical representation of a status or activity that the usermay select to communicate at a particular time.

Where the entity is a group, the profile data 316 for the group maysimilarly include one or more avatar representations associated with thegroup, in addition to the group name, members, and various settings(e.g., notifications) for the relevant group.

The database 126 also stores augmentation data, such as overlays orfilters, in an augmentation table 310. The augmentation data isassociated with and applied to videos (for which data is stored in avideo table 304) and images (for which data is stored in an image table312).

Filters, in one example, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid onan image or video during presentation to a recipient user. Filters maybe of various types, including user-selected filters from a set offilters presented to a sending user by the messaging client 104 when thesending user is composing a message. Other types of filters includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters), which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a user interface by the messaging client 104, based ongeolocation information determined by a Global Positioning System (GPS)unit of the client device 102.

Another type of filter is a data filter, which may be selectivelypresented to a sending user by the messaging client 104, based on otherinputs or information gathered by the client device 102 during themessage creation process. Examples of data filters include currenttemperature at a specific location, a current speed at which a sendinguser is traveling, battery life for a client device 102, or the currenttime.

Other augmentation data that may be stored within the image table 312includes augmented reality content items (e.g., corresponding toapplying Lenses or augmented reality experiences). An augmented realitycontent item may be a real-time special effect and sound that may beadded to an image or a video.

As described above, augmentation data includes augmented reality contentitems, overlays, image transformations, AR images, and similar termsrefer to modifications that may be applied to image data (e.g., videosor images). This includes real-time modifications, which modify an imageas it is captured using device sensors (e.g., one or multiple cameras)of a client device 102 and then displayed on a screen of the clientdevice 102 with the modifications. This also includes modifications tostored content, such as video clips in a gallery that may be modified.For example, in a client device 102 with access to multiple augmentedreality content items, a user can use a single video clip with multipleaugmented reality content items to see how the different augmentedreality content items will modify the stored clip. For example, multipleaugmented reality content items that apply different pseudorandommovement models can be applied to the same content by selectingdifferent augmented reality content items for the content. Similarly,real-time video capture may be used with an illustrated modification toshow how video images currently being captured by sensors of a clientdevice 102 would modify the captured data. Such data may simply bedisplayed on the screen and not stored in memory, or the contentcaptured by the device sensors may be recorded and stored in memory withor without the modifications (or both). In some systems, a previewfeature can show how different augmented reality content items will lookwithin different windows in a display at the same time. This can, forexample, enable multiple windows with different pseudorandom animationsto be viewed on a display at the same time.

Data and various systems using augmented reality content items or othersuch transform systems to modify content using this data can thusinvolve detection of objects (e.g., faces, hands, bodies, cats, dogs,surfaces, objects, etc.), tracking of such objects as they leave, enter,and move around the field of view in video frames, and the modificationor transformation of such objects as they are tracked. In variousexamples, different methods for achieving such transformations may beused. Some examples may involve generating a three-dimensional meshmodel of the object or objects and using transformations and animatedtextures of the model within the video to achieve the transformation. Inother examples, tracking of points on an object may be used to place animage or texture (which may be two dimensional or three dimensional) atthe tracked position. In still further examples, neural network analysisof video frames may be used to place images, models, or textures incontent (e.g., images or frames of video). Augmented reality contentitems thus refer both to the images, models, and textures used to createtransformations in content, as well as to additional modeling andanalysis information needed to achieve such transformations with objectdetection, tracking, and placement.

Real-time video processing can be performed with any kind of video data(e.g., video streams, video files, etc.) saved in a memory of acomputerized system of any kind. For example, a user can load videofiles and save them in a memory of a device, or can generate a videostream using sensors of the device. Additionally, any objects can beprocessed using a computer animation model, such as a human's face andparts of a human body, animals, or non-living things such as chairs,cars, or other objects.

In some examples, when a particular modification is selected along withcontent to be transformed, elements to be transformed are identified bythe computing device, and then detected and tracked if they are presentin the frames of the video. The elements of the object are modifiedaccording to the request for modification, thus transforming the framesof the video stream. Transformation of frames of a video stream can beperformed by different methods for different kinds of transformation.For example, for transformations of frames mostly referring to changingforms of object's elements characteristic points for each element of anobject are calculated (e.g., using an Active Shape Model (ASM) or otherknown methods). Then, a mesh based on the characteristic points isgenerated for each of the at least one element of the object. This meshis used in the following stage of tracking the elements of the object inthe video stream. In the process of tracking, the mentioned mesh foreach element is aligned with a position of each element. Then,additional points are generated on the mesh. A first set of first pointsis generated for each element based on a request for modification, and aset of second points is generated for each element based on the set offirst points and the request for modification. Then, the frames of thevideo stream can be transformed by modifying the elements of the objecton the basis of the sets of first and second points and the mesh. Insuch methods, a background of the modified object can be changed ordistorted as well by tracking and modifying the background.

In some examples, transformations changing some areas of an object usingits elements can be performed by calculating characteristic points foreach element of an object and generating a mesh based on the calculatedcharacteristic points. Points are generated on the mesh, and thenvarious areas based on the points are generated. The elements of theobject are then tracked by aligning the area for each element with aposition for each of the at least one element, and properties of theareas can be modified based on the request for modification, thustransforming the frames of the video stream. Depending on the specificrequest for modification properties of the mentioned areas can betransformed in different ways. Such modifications may involve changingcolor of areas; removing at least some part of areas from the frames ofthe video stream; including one or more new objects into areas that arebased on a request for modification; and modifying or distorting theelements of an area or object. In various examples, any combination ofsuch modifications or other similar modifications may be used. Forcertain models to be animated, some characteristic points can beselected as control points to be used in determining the entirestate-space of options for the model animation.

In some examples of a computer animation model to transform image datausing face detection, the face is detected on an image with the use of aspecific face detection algorithm (e.g., Viola-Jones). Then, an ActiveShape Model (ASM) algorithm is applied to the face region of an image todetect facial feature reference points.

Other methods and algorithms suitable for face detection can be used.For example, in some examples, features are located using a landmark,which represents a distinguishable point present in most of the imagesunder consideration. For facial landmarks, for example, the location ofthe left eye pupil may be used. If an initial landmark is notidentifiable (e.g., if a person has an eyepatch), secondary landmarksmay be used. Such landmark identification procedures may be used for anysuch objects. In some examples, a set of landmarks forms a shape. Shapescan be represented as vectors using the coordinates of the points in theshape. One shape is aligned to another with a similarity transform(allowing translation, scaling, and rotation) that minimizes the averageEuclidean distance between shape points. The mean shape is the mean ofthe aligned training shapes.

In some examples, a search for landmarks from the mean shape aligned tothe position and size of the face determined by a global face detectoris started. Such a search then repeats the steps of suggesting atentative shape by adjusting the locations of shape points by templatematching the image texture around each point and then conforming thetentative shape to a global shape model until convergence occurs. Insome systems, individual template matches are unreliable, and the shapemodel pools the results of the weak template matches to form a strongeroverall classifier. The entire search is repeated at each level in animage pyramid, from coarse to fine resolution.

A transformation system can capture an image or video stream on a clientdevice (e.g., the client device 102) and perform complex imagemanipulations locally on the client device 102 while maintaining asuitable user experience, computation time, and power consumption. Thecomplex image manipulations may include size and shape changes, emotiontransfers (e.g., changing a face from a frown to a smile), statetransfers (e.g., aging a subject, reducing apparent age, changinggender), style transfers, graphical element application, and any othersuitable image or video manipulation implemented by a convolutionalneural network that has been configured to execute efficiently on theclient device 102.

In some examples, a computer animation model to transform image data canbe used by a system where a user may capture an image or video stream ofthe user (e.g., a selfie) using a client device 102 having a neuralnetwork operating as part of a messaging client 104 operating on theclient device 102. The transformation system operating within themessaging client 104 determines the presence of a face within the imageor video stream and provides modification icons associated with acomputer animation model to transform image data, or the computeranimation model can be present as associated with an interface describedherein. The modification icons include changes that may be the basis formodifying the user's face within the image or video stream as part ofthe modification operation. Once a modification icon is selected, thetransform system initiates a process to convert the image of the user toreflect the selected modification icon (e.g., generate a smiling face onthe user). A modified image or video stream may be presented in agraphical user interface displayed on the client device 102 as soon asthe image or video stream is captured, and a specified modification isselected. The transformation system may implement a complexconvolutional neural network on a portion of the image or video streamto generate and apply the selected modification. That is, the user maycapture the image or video stream and be presented with a modifiedresult in real-time or near real-time once a modification icon has beenselected. Further, the modification may be persistent while the videostream is being captured, and the selected modification icon remainstoggled. Machine-taught neural networks may be used to enable suchmodifications.

The graphical user interface, presenting the modification performed bythe transform system, may supply the user with additional interactionoptions. Such options may be based on the interface used to initiate thecontent capture and selection of a particular computer animation model(e.g., initiation from a content creator user interface). In variousexamples, a modification may be persistent after an initial selection ofa modification icon. The user may toggle the modification on or off bytapping or otherwise selecting the face being modified by thetransformation system and store it for later viewing or browsing toother areas of the imaging application. Where multiple faces aremodified by the transformation system, the user may toggle themodification on or off globally by tapping or selecting a single facemodified and displayed within a graphical user interface. In someexamples, individual faces, among a group of multiple faces, may beindividually modified, or such modifications may be individually toggledby tapping or selecting the individual face or a series of individualfaces displayed within the graphical user interface.

A story table 314 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video, or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a story or a gallery). The creation of a particularcollection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user forwhich a record is maintained in the entity table 306). A user may createa “personal story” in the form of a collection of content that has beencreated and sent/broadcasted by that user. To this end, the userinterface of the messaging client 104 may include an icon that isuser-selectable to enable a sending user to add specific content to hisor her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automatically,or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom various locations and events. Users whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client 104, to contribute content to aparticular live story. The live story may be identified to the user bythe messaging client 104, based on his or her location. The end resultis a “live story” told from a community perspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location story,”which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some examples, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end-user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

As mentioned above, the video table 304 stores video data that, in oneexample, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 302. Similarly, the image table 312 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 306. The entity table 306 may associate variousaugmentations from the augmentation table 310 with various images andvideos stored in the image table 312 and the video table 304.

Data Communications Architecture

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some examples, generated by a messaging client 104 forcommunication to a further messaging client 104 or the messaging server118. The content of a particular message 400 is used to populate themessage table 302 stored within the database 126, accessible by themessaging server 118. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is storedin memory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102or the application servers 114. A message 400 is shown to include thefollowing example components:

-   -   message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies the        message 400.    -   message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via a        user interface of the client device 102, and that is included in        the message 400.    -   message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from a memory        component of a client device 102, and that is included in the        message 400. Image data for a sent or received message 400 may        be stored in the image table 312.    -   message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400. Video data        for a sent or received message 400 may be stored in the video        table 304.    -   message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a microphone        or retrieved from a memory component of the client device 102,        and that is included in the message 400.    -   message augmentation data 412: augmentation data (e.g., filters,        stickers, or other annotations or enhancements) that represents        augmentations to be applied to message image payload 406,        message video payload 408, or message audio payload 410 of the        message 400. Augmentation data for a sent or received message        400 may be stored in the augmentation table 310.    -   message duration parameter 414: parameter value indicating, in        seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload 408,        message audio payload 410) is to be presented or made accessible        to a user via the messaging client 104.    -   message geolocation parameter 416: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 416 values may be included in the payload, each of        these parameter values being associated with respect to content        items included in the content (e.g., a specific image into        within the message image payload 406, or a specific video in the        message video payload 408).    -   message story identifier 418: identifier values identifying one        or more content collections (e.g., “stories” identified in the        story table 314) with which a particular content item in the        message image payload 406 of the message 400 is associated. For        example, multiple images within the message image payload 406        may each be associated with multiple content collections using        identifier values.    -   message tag 420: each message 400 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 406        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 420 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        image recognition.    -   message sender identifier 422: an identifier (e.g., a messaging        system identifier, email address, or device identifier)        indicative of a user of the Client device 102 on which the        message 400 was generated and from which the message 400 was        sent.    -   message receiver identifier 424: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 to        which the message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of message 400 maybe pointers to locations in tables within which content data values arestored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 maybe a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 312.Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to datastored within a video table 304, values stored within the messageaugmentations 412 may point to data stored in an augmentation table 310,values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to datastored in a story table 314, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 306.

Time-Based Access Limitation Architecture

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeral message502, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a content collection(e.g., an ephemeral message group 504) may be time-limited (e.g., madeephemeral).

An ephemeral message 502 is shown to be associated with a messageduration parameter 506, the value of which determines an amount of timethat the ephemeral message 502 will be displayed to a receiving user ofthe ephemeral message 502 by the messaging client 104. In one example,an ephemeral message 502 is viewable by a receiving user for up to amaximum of 10 seconds, depending on the amount of time that the sendinguser specifies using the message duration parameter 506.

The message duration parameter 506 and the message receiver identifier424 are shown to be inputs to a message timer 510, which is responsiblefor determining the amount of time that the ephemeral message 502 isshown to a particular receiving user identified by the message receiveridentifier 424. In particular, the ephemeral message 502 will only beshown to the relevant receiving user for a time period determined by thevalue of the message duration parameter 506. The message timer 510 isshown to provide output to a more generalized ephemeral timer system202, which is responsible for the overall timing of display of content(e.g., an ephemeral message 502) to a receiving user.

The ephemeral message 502 is shown in FIG. 5 to be included within anephemeral message group 504 (e.g., a collection of messages in apersonal story, or an event story). The ephemeral message group 504 hasan associated group duration parameter 508, a value of which determinesa time duration for which the ephemeral message group 504 is presentedand accessible to users of the messaging system 100. The group durationparameter 508, for example, may be the duration of a music concert,where the ephemeral message group 504 is a collection of contentpertaining to that concert. Alternatively, a user (either the owninguser or a curator user) may specify the value for the group durationparameter 508 when performing the setup and creation of the ephemeralmessage group 504.

Additionally, each ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral messagegroup 504 has an associated group participation parameter 512, a valueof which determines the duration of time for which the ephemeral message502 will be accessible within the context of the ephemeral message group504. Accordingly, a particular ephemeral message group 504 may “expire”and become inaccessible within the context of the ephemeral messagegroup 504, prior to the ephemeral message group 504 itself expiring interms of the group duration parameter 508. The group duration parameter508, group participation parameter 512, and message receiver identifier424 each provide input to a group timer 514, which operationallydetermines, firstly, whether a particular ephemeral message 502 of theephemeral message group 504 will be displayed to a particular receivinguser and, if so, for how long. Note that the ephemeral message group 504is also aware of the identity of the particular receiving user as aresult of the message receiver identifier 424.

Accordingly, the group timer 514 operationally controls the overalllifespan of an associated ephemeral message group 504, as well as anindividual ephemeral message 502 included in the ephemeral message group504. In one example, each and every ephemeral message 502 within theephemeral message group 504 remains viewable and accessible for a timeperiod specified by the group duration parameter 508. In a furtherexample, a certain ephemeral message 502 may expire, within the contextof ephemeral message group 504, based on a group participation parameter512. Note that a message duration parameter 506 may still determine theduration of time for which a particular ephemeral message 502 isdisplayed to a receiving user, even within the context of the ephemeralmessage group 504. Accordingly, the message duration parameter 506determines the duration of time that a particular ephemeral message 502is displayed to a receiving user, regardless of whether the receivinguser is viewing that ephemeral message 502 inside or outside the contextof an ephemeral message group 504.

The ephemeral timer system 202 may furthermore operationally remove aparticular ephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504based on a determination that it has exceeded an associated groupparticipation parameter 512. For example, when a sending user hasestablished a group participation parameter 512 of 24 hours fromposting, the ephemeral timer system 202 will remove the relevantephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504 after thespecified 24 hours. The ephemeral timer system 202 also operates toremove an ephemeral message group 504 when either the groupparticipation parameter 512 for each and every ephemeral message 502within the ephemeral message group 504 has expired, or when theephemeral message group 504 itself has expired in terms of the groupduration parameter 508.

In certain use cases, a creator of a particular ephemeral message group504 may specify an indefinite group duration parameter 508. In thiscase, the expiration of the group participation parameter 512 for thelast remaining ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral message group504 will determine when the ephemeral message group 504 itself expires.In this case, a new ephemeral message 502, added to the ephemeralmessage group 504, with a new group participation parameter 512,effectively extends the life of an ephemeral message group 504 to equalthe value of the group participation parameter 512.

Responsive to the ephemeral timer system 202 determining that anephemeral message group 504 has expired (e.g., is no longer accessible),the ephemeral timer system 202 communicates with the messaging system100 (and, for example, specifically the messaging client 104) to causean indicium (e.g., an icon) associated with the relevant ephemeralmessage group 504 to no longer be displayed within a user interface ofthe messaging client 104. Similarly, when the ephemeral timer system 202determines that the message duration parameter 506 for a particularephemeral message 502 has expired, the ephemeral timer system 202 causesthe messaging client 104 to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an iconor textual identification) associated with the ephemeral message 502.

Unlocking an Autonomous Drone

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of components 600 for an autonomous drone,in accordance with some examples. The components 600 illustrated in FIG.6 are part of an autonomous drone such as the autonomous drone 710illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8, 10, and 11 . The components 600 are organizedinto functional groups that include input/output devices 602, aprocessor 604, memory 606, a battery 608, a power chip 610, sensors 648,wireless connections 666, power and communications connections 646, anda propulsion system 684. One skilled in the art would recognize that thecomponents 600 may be organized into different functional groups or mayall individually be part of the autonomous drone.

The components 600 are connected via power and communicationsconnections 646. The power and communication connections 646 include oneor more communication buses, power buses, and/or point-to-pointconnections, in accordance with some examples. Additionally, one or moreof the components 600 may be optional. And the components 600 mayinclude additional components. Moreover, the number of the components asillustrated may be different. For example, there may be multipleprocessors 604. The terms electrical and electronic may be used to referto either electronical components and/or electronic components.

The propulsion system 684 includes electrical motors 686, where eachelectrical motor 686 includes a rotor 688 associated with a propeller690. The propellers 690 provide aerodynamic lift to the autonomous drone710, as well as to accelerate and rotate the autonomous drone, inaccordance with some examples. The electrical motors 686 once actuatedin response to signals from, for example, the processor 604, spin therotors 688, which spin the propellers 690. The electrical motors 686 andactuators 638 are powered by the battery 608 and/or power chip 610 andare controlled by signals from the processor 604. The electrical motors686 are variable electrical motors in accordance with some examples. Insome examples, the electrical motors 686 have a low setting, which theprocessor 604 may use to indicate to a user of the autonomous drone thatthe autonomous drone is preparing to takeoff.

Having more than one propeller 690 enables the autonomous drone tocontinue to fly when one or more of the electrical motors 686, rotors688, or propellers 690 fail. For instance, if one of the electricalmotors 686 fails, the autonomous drone 710 can still stay aloft with theremaining electrical motors 686 working in concert to compensate. Insome examples, the propulsion system 684 sends a signal to the processor604 that indicates an electrical motor 686 is not functioning properly.In some examples, the electrical motors 686 provide signals to theprocessor 604 that indicate whether the electrical motors 686 areoperating properly. In addition, the greater the number electricalmotors 686 that are incorporated into the autonomous drone, the morelift the autonomous drone 400 will generate, allowing the autonomousdrone to carry a heavier payload such as one or more sensors 648.

In some examples, the propulsion system 684 includes one or moreactuators 638 that tilt the electrical motors 686 so that the electricalmotors 686 may operate at an angle relative to a frame of reference ofthe autonomous drone. For example, each electrical motor 686 isrotationally mounted on the autonomous drone with a single axis ofrotation where the actuator 638 controls the angle of the electricalmotor 686. In some examples, each electrical motor 686 is rotationallymounted with two or more axes of rotation controlled by one or moreactuators 638. In some examples, one or more actuators 638 control theangle of more than one electrical motor 686.

The functional groups include sensors 648 with components 600 includingphotography camera 650, navigation camera 651, inertial measurement unit(IMU) A 652, altimeter 654, gyroscope 656, IMU B 658, accelerometer 665,height detector 660, which includes light 662 and light detector 664,magnetic sensor 659, wind speed sensor 661, clock 663, motion sensor667, microphone 669, orientation 671, and so forth.

In some examples, the sensors 648 generate data that is processed by theprocessor 604 and stored as data in a memory 606 such as the memory 1626 as data 630 or memory N 632 as data 636. For instance, the altimeter654 is an instrument for determining attained altitude. So, when theautonomous drone is set to hover in place, the processor 604 uses thedata from the altimeter 654 to determine a height and adjusts thepropulsion system 684 to maintain that height.

Alternatively, or in addition, the height detector 660 is used togenerate data that can be used to determine the height of the autonomousdrone above the ground. For example, the light 662 of the heightdetector 660 is mounted on the bottom of the autonomous drone to shinelight down to the ground which bounces off and hits the light detector664. The processor 604 uses the data generated from shining the light bythe light 662 and receiving the light at the light detector 664 todetermine a height of the autonomous drone above a ground based on atime-of-flight of the light and the speed of light. The light 662 is asuitable light source strong enough to produce a detectable reflectionon the ground by the light detector 664. In some examples, the light 662emits electro-magnetic radiation at a specific wavelength that the lightdetector 664 is manufactured to detect. In some examples, the height isdetermined further based on a roll and pitch of the autonomous drone toaccount for the fact that the light 662 may not be shining lightstraight down. In some examples, the height detector 660 is based onsonar.

The IMU A 652 and IMU B 658 output measurements such as the autonomousdrone's specific force, angular rate, and the orientation of theautonomous drone, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes,and, optionally, magnetometers. The altimeter 654, gyroscope 656,accelerometer 665, and other sensors 648 may be replaced by the IMU A652 and/or IMU B 658. Various combinations of sensors 648 may be used togenerate the data needed to navigate the autonomous drone. In someexamples, the sensors 648 include a lidar system, a radar system, alight sensor, or another form of sensor that may be used to assist innavigation and/or photography. In some examples, sensors 648 areincluded that enable the autonomous drone to determine a pitch, yaw, androll of the autonomous drone. In some examples, the sensors 648 includea motion sensor 667 that does not require power but generates a signalbased on the autonomous drone being moved. The motion sensor 667 may beused to generate an event that the processor 604 responds to.

The photography camera 650 as well as other sensors 648 generate datathat may be captured for the purposes of displaying or saving the datafor a user of the autonomous drone. The photography camera 650 comprisesa sensor that is divided into pixels. In some examples, the photographycamera 650 is mounted horizontally relative to an axis of propellers 690of the autonomous drone 710 and the navigation camera 651 is mountedvertically relative to the axis of the propellers 690 and is directeddownward.

The sensor generates an electrical signal based on the light thatstrikes the sensor. In some examples, generated data is associated with,referring to FIG. 9 , a position 952 of the autonomous drone 710 and atime 936. In some examples, IMU A 652 is coupled with the photographycamera 650, which enables the processor 604 to stabilize the photographycamera 650 for improved photography and determine if the photographs arenot reliable because the photography camera 650 has not been stable. Thephotography camera 651 may be rotationally mounted on the body of theautonomous drone, being coupled to the body via one or more actuators orother mechanisms to control orientation of the photography cameras 650relative to the body of the autonomous drone. The IMU B 658 is attachedto the autonomous drone to provide data for navigation. The processor604 uses the data generated by the IMUs for navigation and, in someexamples, to stabilize the photography camera 650. In some examples,there is more than one photography camera 650.

The navigation camera 651 is mounted on a body of the autonomous dronefor providing data to assist in navigation of the autonomous drone.There may be more than one navigation camera 651. For example, thenavigation may be a front camera that is mounted onto the body of theautonomous drone, where the navigation camera 651 is positioned to pickup images of the scene towards which the autonomous drone is directed.Additionally, or instead of, the navigation camera 651 may be mountedvertically on the body of the autonomous drone, where the navigationcamera 651 is positioned to pick up images of the terrain beingoverflown. The one or more navigation cameras 651 may be movably orfixedly mounted on the body of the autonomous drone, being coupled tothe body via one or more actuators or other mechanisms to controlorientation of the one or more navigation cameras 651 relative to thebody of the autonomous drone. In some examples, the photography camera650 is also used as a navigation camera 651. In some examples, thephotography camera 650 provides a greater pixel resolution and requiresmore power to operate than the navigation camera 651.

Data such as video and digital images captured by the photography camera650 and navigation camera 651 may be stored in memory 606 as data 630,636. Further, data captured by the photography camera 650 and/ornavigation camera 651 may be streamed in near-real time wirelessly,using wireless connections, to an external device 682. Additionally, theautonomous drone may send or receive data, which includes instructions,to or from an external device 682.

The magnetic sensor 659 provides data regarding the orientation of theautonomous drone within a magnetic field. The wind speed sensor 661indicates a wind speed, which may be an apparent wind speed and/ordirection, which the processor 604 can use to estimate the true windspeed based on flight characteristics and settings of the autonomousdrone such as the power to the electrical motors 686. The clock 663generates data that indicates a time. In some embodiments, the clock 663indicates a Greenwich Mean Time. In some embodiments, the clock 663generates a time relative to an event such as the powering up of theautonomous drone. The microphone 669 turns sound waves into electricalsignals that may be stored as data 630, 636 are processed by theprocessor 604. The orientation 671 is a sensor that indicates theorientation of the autonomous drone 710. For example, the orientation671 indicates whether the autonomous drone is right side up or upsidedown.

The wireless connections 666 include one or more wireless protocols thatmay include radio waves and/or light waves. As illustrated, the wirelessconnections 666 include a GPS chip 668, a lower-power wireless chip 670connected to a transceiver/antenna 672, and a higher-power wireless chip676 connected to a transceiver/antenna 678. The GPS chip 668 isconnected to an antenna/transceiver that may either be internal to thechip or external. The GPS chip 668 receives communications fromsatellites and uses the information from receiving signals from multiplesatellites to determine a position of the autonomous drone. GPS chips668 are higher-power chips 676. In some examples, the processor 604receives set-up data from an external device 682 that is needed for theoperation of the GPS chip 668 where the set-up data may includeinformation about the satellites that the GPS chip 668 receives signalsfrom where the data may include positional information about thesatellites.

The lower-power wireless chip 670 may include chips that perform one ormore lower-power wireless protocols. For example, Bluetooth Low-Energy(BLE) may be used to communicate with nearer external devices 682. Thehigher-power wireless chip 676 includes chips that perform one or morehigher-power wireless protocols. For example, 3GPP protocols and IEEE802.11 protocols.

The input/output devices 602 provide input and output to the autonomousdrone that may be used by a user. The indicator lights 612 indicate astatus of the autonomous drone and are visible to a user of theautonomous drone. For example, the indicator lights 612 may indicate onvs. off, a charge level, a charge state such as charging or notcharging, a standby state, whether there are photographs or videos inthe memory, whether the memory is full or not, whether the wirelessconnection 666 is on or off, and so forth. An electronic display such asan LCD display may be in addition to or replace the indicator lights612. In some embodiments, one of the buttons 618 is a flight button thatwhen pressed indicates to the autonomous drone 710 that it should takeoff.

The control knob 614, which may take other forms, is a knob mounted onthe outside of the autonomous drone providing a user the ability tocontrol the operation of the autonomous drone. The control knob 614 maybe termed a control user interface device or another similar term, inaccordance with some embodiments. The control knob 614 has a number ofpositions or states such as off, on, transfer for transferring data suchas images out of the autonomous drone, various flight paths andbehaviors, and so forth. The state 615 is an internal state thatprovides the processor 604 with information regarding the setting of thecontrol knob 614. Other input and output user interface items may beused in addition to or instead of the control knob 614.

Connectors 616 are outside connectors that provide either power and/ordata connections from external devices 682 to the autonomous drone. Forexample, there is a power connector 616 for charging the autonomousdrone. The power connector 616 or another connector 616 may be used totransfer data to a host device or to receive power from another powersource. In some examples, the connector 616 is a wireless rechargeableconnector 616 so that the autonomous drone is placed on or near acharging base. In some examples there is a connector 616 for a microsecure digital (SD) card or another external storage device.

In some examples, there are buttons 618 to perform one or morefunctions. For example, a button 618 that when pressed instructs theautonomous drone to perform whatever function is indicted by the controlknob 614 such as take off and take a portrait photograph of the user ofthe autonomous drone as quickly as possible.

The processor 604 performs instructions 620 to process data 630,636,and/or to control the operations of the autonomous drone. Theinstructions 620 are machine instructions specifying the operations thatthe processor 604 is to perform and may be stored in a cache memory thatis part of the processor 604 chip. The power portion 1 622 through powerportion N 624 indicate that the processor 604 is divided into differentportions so that the power chip 610 may select which portions of theprocessor 604 to provide power to in accordance with different powerstates 641 of the autonomous drone. Throughout this discussion, theprocessor 604 is described as the actor in determining various functionsbut one skilled in the art will recognize that special purpose chips maybe included in various components of the autonomous drone to performspecific functions. For example, the height detector 660 may include aprocessing circuitry that determines the height above the ground andoutputs data indicating the height above the ground for consumption bythe processor 604.

The memory 606 includes memory 1 626 through memory N 632. Memory 1 626and memory N 632 includes instructions 628, 634 and data 630, 636,respectively. The memories are accessible to the processor 604 and oneor more other components 600 via the power and communication connections646. A memory of the memory 1 626 through memory N 632 is a main memorythat is used for storing data generated by the sensors 648 and for otherdata such as communications to and from the wireless connections 666.The main memory is a dynamic memory such as a DRAM or RAM, in accordancewith some examples. Another memory of memory 1 626 through memory N 632is a static memory such as a SRAM or ROM that does not need power tomaintain a state. In some examples, another memory of memory 1 626through memory N 632 is a storage unit that is a machine-readablemedium. For example, the storage unit is a removable micro SD card. Thepower chip 610 has connections to different memories so that the powerchip 610 may provide power to one or more of the memories of memory 1626 through memory N 632. The instructions 628, 634, and data 630, 636reside, completely or partially, within the main memory, static memory,the storage unit, and/or within the processor 604 such as within a cachememory, or any suitable combination thereof. The main memory, staticmemory, the storage unit, and the memory of processor 604 are examplesof machine-readable media.

The autonomous drone may have preprogrammed flight paths or operationsthat control the flight path and operation of the autonomous drone. Forexample, referring to FIG. 9 , preprogrammed flight plan 960. Thepreprogrammed flight plans 960 may be associated with positions orstates 615 of the control knob 614. The memory 606 stores thepreprogrammed flight paths or operations. In some examples, theautonomous drone downloads new preprogrammed flight paths or operationsfrom external devices 682.

Alternatively, or in addition to, movement of the autonomous drone maybe controlled by a remote controller such as an external device 682 thatis a remote-control device that a pilot or user may use to launch, land,take photographs or video, and navigate the autonomous drone if theautonomous drone is not acting as an autonomous drone. In theseembodiments, the autonomous drone is not acting as an autonomous dronebut a remote-controlled drone. Remote controllers can take many forms,from gamepad-like controllers to smartphones and tablets. Regardless oftheir design, remote controllers require communication with theautonomous drone, and typically do that using radio waves. For example,drones are typically run by 2.4 gigahertz radio waves. To communicatewith an autonomous drone, many drone controllers use one of thecommunication protocols of IEEE 802.11, which may be termed Wi-Fi, whichcan be transmitted on the 2.4 gigahertz spectrum, and is used bysmartphones and tablets for communication. In one example, referring toFIG. 7 , drone 710 communicates with smartphone 708, using Wi-Fi orBLE®. The external devices 682 include remote-control/host devices suchas off-site client device 704, server 706, smartphone 708, or anotherdevice.

A power source is required to power the electrical motors 686 and powerthe other components 600. In some examples, the autonomous dronecomprises one or more batteries 608 as sources of power for thecomponents 600 such as the electrical motors 686. The batteries 608 areremovable, in accordance with some examples. In some examples, thebatteries 608 are rechargeable where one or more connectors 616 connectto the battery 608 either directly or via an electrical or electroniccomponent. In some examples, a power chip 640 manages the batteries 608by performing various functions such as determining a charge of thebatteries 608, turning on or off the recharging, provisioning the outputof the batteries 608 with capacitors, resisters, and/or inductors, andso forth. In some examples, the power chip 640 includes a power state641, which indicates which of the components 600 of the autonomous droneare currently being powered. The power state 641 includes differentpower states 641 such as power state 1 642 through power state N 644.The different power states 641 provide power to different subsets of thecomponents 600 and, thus, consume different amounts of power and providedifferent levels of functionality for the autonomous drone as isdiscussed herein. The different power states 641 are achieved byproviding power to different sets of power and communicationsconnections 646. In some examples, the components 600 are included aspart of the machine 1300. In some examples, one or more of thecomponents 600 are part of a motherboard with the processor 604 runninga real-time operating system such as a Linux®.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an autonomous drone system700, in accordance with some examples. In some examples, the autonomousdrone 710 is an autonomous drone or a semi-autonomous drone. Theautonomous drone 710 communicates by sending communications 712, 713using wireless connections 666 of FIG. 6 to the remote-control/hostdevice such as off-site client device 704, server 706, mobile phone orsmartphone 708, or another device. The wireless network 702 is acellular telephone network such as an LTE network, an IEEE 802.11network, a BlueTooth® network, or another wireless network using anotherwireless communication protocol. In some examples, the autonomous drone710 communicates directly with the remote-control/host device viacommunications 713 where communications 713 are sent using acommunication protocol such as the communication protocols discussed forthe wireless network 702.

In examples the autonomous drone 710 sends communications 712, 713 thatincludes data and/or commands or requests to another device such as thesmartphone 708. In some instances, communication between theremote-control/host device such as the smartphone 708 and the autonomousdrone 710 may be via the wireless network 702. The wireless network 702may include access to the internet and/or the autonomous drone 710 mayaccess the internet via another connected device such as the smartphone708.

In some examples, the server 706 provides a social networking service,to enable communication of content such as photos, videos, statusupdates, media content messages, and the like, directly to social-mediasites such as Snapchat® from the autonomous drone 710, which may be inflight. In some examples, the server 706 is messaging server system 108and the data captured by photography camera 650 of drone 710 isbroadcasted or otherwise communicated via a wireless network 702, whichmay be in near-real time, to a remote-control/host device such assmartphone 708, to servers 706, client devices 704, or another device.The autonomous drone 710 may be in contact with drone management system216 of FIG. 2 either directly or via another device.

One or more of the remote-control/host devices such as the smartphone708 may assist in processing of the data such as data 630 by receivingthe data wirelessly, processing the data, and then sending backinformation wirelessly to the autonomous drone 710. For example, thesmartphone 708 may receive an image from the autonomous drone 710 anddetermine that the image is a landmark such as a museum, restaurant,park, national monument, and so forth. The smartphone 708 may send backinformation that is used by the autonomous drone 710 to assist in aflight path associated with the landmark. The smartphone 708 may contactdrone management system 216 to perform the functions for the autonomousdrone 710. The autonomous drone 710 may contact the autonomous dronemanagement system 216 by sending commands to the autonomous dronemanagement system 216 such as store data for a user, request a user orpurchaser of the autonomous drone, and so forth.

In some examples, the remote-control/host device such as the smartphone708 includes an associated application that may be used by a user ordevice to control the autonomous drone 710 or send instructions to theautonomous drone 710 such as return to user, take a particular setflight, move to the left, move to right, move up or down, tilt, take aset of photographs, turn off, and so forth. The associated applicationmay provide real-time or near real-time images of the videos that theautonomous drone 710 is capturing. In some examples, the associatedapplication enables the user to configure the autonomous drone 710 bysetting timeouts, conditions, and/or thresholds 970. Additionally, theuser may select configurations regarding the wireless connections 666 toindicate which wireless protocols should be used in which states of theautonomous drone.

In some examples, the remote-control/host device acts as a router orpasses through messages or packets to other devices connected to thewireless network 702 directly or indirectly. For example, the smartphone708 receives an image via communications 713 from the autonomous drone710. The smartphone 708 takes the image and sends it to server 706 forposting on a social media site, which may be in near-real time. Theserver 706 may be hosting the autonomous drone management system 216. Aremote-control/host device such as the smartphone 708 controls a stateof the autonomous drone 710 by sending instructions to the autonomousdrone 710 via communications 713, 712, in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 8 illustrates an autonomous drone 710, in accordance with someexamples. The autonomous drone 710 is illustrated from a bottom view ofthe autonomous drone 710. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8 , the autonomousdrone 710 includes propeller 690, control knob 614, which may be on thetop, height detector 660, batteries 608, photography camera 650,indicator lights 612, connector 616, center case 804, navigation camera651, and flight button 806. The charging/transfer cable 802 is pluggedinto the connector 616. The center case 804 includes various components600 such as the processor 604, memory 606, wireless connections 666, andso forth. In some examples, the autonomous drone 710 is plastic andapproximately six inches in length and four inches in width. In someexamples, the autonomous drone 710 is a quadrotor. The flight button 806is a button 618 that when pressed indicates that the autonomous drone710 should takeoff and perform a flight plan. The state 615 of thecontrol knob 614 selects the preprogrammed flight plan 960 of FIG. 9 ,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a system 900 for landing an autonomous drone withgestures, in accordance with some examples. The navigation system 916guides the autonomous drone 710 along a flight plan 910 with a requiredaccuracy to its destination within a set time, in accordance with someexamples. The navigation system 916 is stored in a memory 606 andperformed by the processor 604, in accordance with some embodiments.

The navigation system 916 generates the flight plan 910 based onpreprogrammed flight plans 960. For example, a preprogrammed flight plan960 is to fly a couple of feet away from and above a head of a user anddo a 360-degree video of the person. The head of the user may be alandmark 962 that is identified in the preprogrammed flight plan 960.The navigation system 916 has to determine a flight plan 910 thatconforms to the preprogrammed flight plan 960.

Example preprogrammed flight plans 960 include paths to follow suchcircle a user, or object, follow a predetermined route around or near auser or object where the path may be designed to capture a video orphotograph, hover in front of the user, go to a destination and return,go to a destination and circle the destination for a video, and soforth. The preprogrammed flight plan 960 includes one or more of thefollowing: a starting point, a target location, a route, a speed, afunction that is to be performed such as photographing, videoing,near-real time streaming the video, and so forth.

The sensor data 912 is data that is generated by the sensors 648 and/orother components 600. The propulsion system commands 914 includesdetermining a power for the electrical motors 686 and actuator 638positions. The sensor data 912 also includes information regarding theinput/output devices 602 such as the state 615 of the control knob 614.

The navigation system 916 includes thresholds 970. The thresholds 970include a first threshold and a second threshold. The first threshold isused to detect when a hand or object is placed under the autonomousdrone 710 as a gesture 969 indicating the autonomous drone 710 is toland. The first threshold is a difference between a height of theautonomous drone above the ground during a first time when theautonomous drone 710 may be hovering, less a height of the autonomousdrone above the ground during a second time where the second time iswhen the hand or object is placed under the autonomous drone 710. Thefirst threshold takes values of two to six feet, in accordance with someexamples. The second threshold is how close the hand or object is placeunder the autonomous drone 710 for the gesture detection module 968 torecognize the hand or object as a gesture 969. In some examples, thesecond threshold is from one inch to three feet. Different values forthe thresholds may be used. The thresholds 970 may be configured by acontrol program, stored in a stable memory 606, downloaded from anexternal device 682, or set in another way.

In some examples, the navigation system 916 determines a wind speed 926,which is associated with a time 928, an autonomous drone speed 934,which is associated with a time 936, direction 950, and a position 952.A velocity of the autonomous drone 710 is the autonomous drone speed 934and the direction 950. In some examples, the navigation system 916provides for the autonomous drone 710 to be fully autonomous where theautonomous drone 710 unlocks, takes off, flies, lands, recognizesgestures 969, and, optionally, captures images or video, withoutadditional user input or control.

In some examples, the wind speed 926 is determined by the wind speedsensor 661. In some examples, the autonomous drone speed 934 or velocityis determined based on images from the navigation camera 651, which isin a vertical position, and, in some examples, based further on heightestimates using the altimeter 654 or another sensor 648. In someexamples, the autonomous drone speed 934 or velocity is determined usingdead reckoning using the sensor data 912. One skilled in the art willrecognize that the autonomous drone speed 934 may be determined in otherways using the sensor data 912. The wind speed 926 is determined eitherdirectly by a sensor such as wind speed sensor 661 or determined basedon a difference in an expected velocity of the autonomous drone 710compared with an actual velocity of the autonomous drone 710. In someexamples, the velocity of the autonomous drone 710 is determined basedon differences in locations of the autonomous drone 710, which may bebased on GPS locations generated by the GPS chip 668. In some examples,the location of the autonomous drone 710 is determined based on awireless protocol such as IEEE 802.11 where messages are sent betweenthe autonomous drone 710 and one or more hosts to determine a locationof the autonomous drone 710. In some examples, the location of theautonomous drone 710 is determined based on a location of a host such asa smartphone 708 and information about a distance the autonomous drone710 is from the smartphone 708, which may be coupled with a height abovethe ground to determine coordinates of the location of the autonomousdrone 710.

The height 927 is determined based on the sensor data 912 such as fromthe navigation camera 651, the height detector 660, or another component600. The height 927 is associated with a time 929. The autonomous dronespeed 934, wind speed 926, and height 927 may be determined in differentways. The time 929 associated with the height 927, the time 936associated with the autonomous drone speed 934, and the time 928associated with the wind speed 926 is generated by a clock 663. Thenavigation system 916 includes a state 976, which indicates a goal orpurpose of the navigation system 916. For example, the states 976include on, off, locked, unlocked, standby, true-off, follow flight plan910 or normal operation, return to home, land on palm or object, andland in place. The navigation system 916 may be in multiple states 976such as unlocked and follow flight plan 910.

The face recognition module 974 recognizes faces. The face recognitionmodule 974 is based on neural networks, feature recognition andplacement, or another method. In some examples, the face recognitionmodule 974 uses neural networks and the weights of the neural networksare received from an external device 682 to recognize a particular facesuch as the face of the owner of the autonomous drone 710. For example,the autonomous drone 710 uploads one or more images of the person anddownloads weights to use for a neural network to recognize the person insubsequent images.

The face recognition module 974 determines an initial face 972. Theinitial face 972 is a face used to unlock the autonomous drone 710. Theunlock module (not illustrated) unlocks the autonomous drone 710 for thenavigation system 916 to determine an initial flight plan 910. Theunlock module reduces the chance that the autonomous drone 710 will takeoff accidentally or unintentionally. The unlock module receives anindication of a selection of a fly instruction. For example, the flyinstruction may be received via a flight button, which is a button 618that is accessible on the outside of the autonomous drone 710, and thepressing of the flight button in conjunction with a face being properlypositioned in front of the autonomous drone 710, unlocks the autonomousdrone 710.

The gesture detection module 968 detects a gesture 969 performed by aperson such as the user of the autonomous drone 710. There are differentgestures 969. Gesture detection depends on the state 976 of theautonomous drone 710, in accordance with some embodiments. The gesturedetection module 968 determines a distance the person is away from theautonomous drone 710 and ignores gestures that are performed beyond athreshold distance such as 5 to 30 feet, which may depend on the state976 of the autonomous drone 710.

Two example gestures 969 are a “land on object” gesture 969 and a “comeand land” gesture 969. Some gestures 969 indicate a landing platform.For example, for the “land on object” gesture 969, a user places a handor object under the autonomous drone 710 with the meaning that theautonomous drone 710 is to land on the hand or object. The “land onobject” gesture 969 may only be recognized if the autonomous drone 710is in a “hovering” state 976, in accordance with some examples.

The gesture detection module 968 uses the thresholds discussed above todetermine whether the hand or object placed under the autonomous drone710 is considered a gesture 969. For example, the gesture detectionmodule 968 uses sensor data 912 from the height detector 660, whichindicates a first height above a ground. For example, the sensor data912 indicates the autonomous drone 710 is two to six feet above theground. Different values may be used. The gesture detection module 968then receives additional sensor data 912 from the height detector 660that indicates a second height above the ground. For example, the sensordata 912 indicates the autonomous drone 710 is one inch to three feetabove the ground. Different values may be used. The gesture detectionmodule 968 identifies the height change as a “land on object” gesture969. The gesture detection module 968 instructs the land flight planmodule 966 to determine a land flight plan 911, which the navigationsystem 916 implements. The land flight plan 911, in this example, is tobring the autonomous drone 710 down to land on the hand or object thathas caused the change in height. The navigation system 916 may have tocompensate for movement of the autonomous drone 710 due to a strong windor even a push by a person. The navigation system 916 stores where thehand or object is and navigates down to the hand or object to land. Insome embodiments, the navigation system 916 lowers or flies theautonomous drone 710 downward and if the object or hand is not presentas indicated sensor data 912 indicating the height of the autonomousdrone 710 has risen, then the navigation system 916 aborts the “land onobject” navigation and returns to a previous state 976 of the navigationsystem 916 such as “hover.”

In some embodiments, the gesture detection module 968 uses sensor data912 from the navigation camera 651 to identify the object or hand belowthe autonomous drone 710, which caused the change in height. The gesturedetection module 968 determines not to detect the “land on object”gesture 969 if object or hand is unsuitable for landing on. For example,the autonomous drone 710 determines whether a landing site that issuitable for the autonomous drone 710 to land is provided by the objector hand. The gesture detection module 968 may pass to the land flightplan module 966 an identification of the object or hand, which may beused to determine the land flight plan 911. For example, the land flightplan 911 may include an identification of the object or hand andinstructions to navigate the autonomous drone 710 to the hand or object.The navigation system 916 uses subsequent images captured by thenavigation camera 651 to track the object or hand and navigates theautonomous drone 710 to the object or hand.

In some examples, the gesture detection module 968 uses information fromthe navigation system 916 to determine whether the change in height iscaused due to following a flight plan 910 such as passing over the headof a person. For example, the images from the sensor data 912 mayindicate that the autonomous drone 710 is going to pass over an umbrellaas part of its flight plan 910. The gesture detection module 968 willdetermine the change in height is just the autonomous drone 710 passingover an object or person, the umbrella in this example, and not detectthe gesture 969. In some examples, the “land on object” gesture 969 isonly recognized when the autonomous drone 710 is in a state 976 of“hovering”.

The object is recognized by the gesture detection module 968 based onits connection with the user. For example, a book in the hand of aperson would be recognized as an extension of the hand and be deemed anobject for detecting the gesture 969. In some examples, for an object tobe recognized as an object for the “land on object” gesture 969, theobject must be suitable for the autonomous drone 710 to land. Forexample, a cane or pencil that is extended by a hand may be rejected asunsuitable for the autonomous drone 710 to land on, so the gesturedetection module 966 does not count the cane or pencil as objects.

In some examples, the gesture detection module 968 only recognizesgestures 969 that are performed by a person or user from which theinitial face 972 was captured. This provides some security for theautonomous drone 710 not to be hijacked by another person or for theautonomous drone 710 not to misinterpret movement from another person asa gesture 969.

The “come and land” gesture 969 indicates that the autonomous drone 710is to abort whatever flight plan 910 that it currently has and to “comeand land” or start to fly to a landing site or the person. The “come andland” gesture 969 is performed by a person by projecting a land space infront of the person. For example, the person may place an open palm outin front of them or another object. The gesture recognition module 968recognizes the “come and land” gesture 969 and instructs the land flightplan module 966 to determine a land flight plan 911, which may includean indication of the object or hand that was used for the gesture 969.The land flight plan module 966 receives an indication that the “comeand land” gesture 969 is detected by the gesture detection module 968.The land flight plan module 966, determines a land flight plan 911. Thenavigation system 916 navigates the autonomous drone 710 to a personthat performed the gesture 969 and lands on the object or hand thatperformed the gesture 969.

In some examples, the navigation system 916 navigates the autonomousdrone 710 near the person that performed the gesture 969 and hovers. Theperson may then perform a “land on object” gesture 969 for theautonomous drone 710 to land. In some examples, the navigation system916 navigates the autonomous drone 710 down to the object or hand thatperformed the “come and land” gesture 969.

In some examples, a gesture 969 is only recognized if it is performedfor a threshold duration. For example, if a person holds out their handwith an open palm, then the gesture detection module 968 detects the“come and land” gesture 969 only if the open palm is held out for one toseveral seconds. In some examples, if the person stops holding out theobject or hand, then the gesture detection module 968 determines toabort the gesture 969 and instructs the land flight plan module 966 ornavigation system 916 that the gesture 969 is cancelled.

The navigation system 916 may return to a flight plan 910 or hoverwaiting for further instructions. As an example, if the autonomous drone710 is flying around a person and taking a video, and the personperforms the “come and land” gesture 969, the autonomous drone 710 maystart to lay to their open palm. But if the person withdraws their openpalm, the autonomous drone 710 may resume the previous flight plan 910,may hover in place waiting to see if the gesture 969 is resumed, or maygo to the person and hover waiting for instructions. In someembodiments, the “come and land” gesture 969 or the “land in place”gesture 969 is termed an open hand gesture.

In some examples, the gesture detection module 968 examines a series ofimages from the sensor data 912 to detect the gesture 969. For example,the gesture detection module 968 identifies an arm movement and then thehand movement of an open palm as the “come and land” gesture 969. Insome examples, the gesture detection module 968 examines the object orhand closely to determine if the object or hand is holding somethingthat would indicate the user did not have the intent of gesturing. Forexample, if the hand also includes a glass, then the gesture detectionmodule 968, determines that the user did not intend to gesture.

In some embodiments, the autonomous drone 710 is unlocked by an initialface 972 and the autonomous drone 710 attempts to maintain the initialface 972 or the person of the initial face 972 in images of the sensordata 912 from one or more cameras. The gesture detection module 968 mayexamine only the portion of images that include the person of theinitial face 972 to detect gestures 969. In some embodiments, thegesture detection module 968 includes one or more neural networks thatare specially trained to detect one or more gestures 969. In someembodiments, the navigation system 916 includes one or more neuralnetworks that are trained to recognize the person with the initial face.In some embodiments, the navigation system 916 sends the initial face972 as well other images of the person of the initial face 972 to anexternal device 682, which returns weights to be used in a neuralnetwork to detect the person of the initial face.

FIG. 10 illustrates detection of a gesture 1000, in accordance with someembodiments. The autonomous drone 710 is at a height 1 1014 above theground level 1016 and then user 1018 raises arm 1012 and opens hand1010. The autonomous drone 710 is then at a height 2 1002. The heightsensor/camera 1008 generates the sensor data 912 used by the autonomousdrone 710 to determine height 1 1014 and height 2 1002. The rapid changein the height when the autonomous drone 710 was hovering is detected asa “land on object” gesture 969. Height 1 1014 is a height between two tosix feet, although other values may be used such as one foot to twelvefeet. The height 2 1002 is one inch to three feet, although other valuesmay be used such as touching to four feet. In some examples, the “landon object” gesture 969 is detected if a difference between the height 11014 and height 2 1002 is larger than (or transgresses) a firstthreshold and the height 2 1002 is not larger than (or does nottransgress) a second threshold (or does not transgress).

The landmark 1006 is the user 1018 who, in some examples, is the personthat unlocked the autonomous drone 710. The navigation system 916 usesthe landmark 1006 to determine flight plans 910 from preprogrammedflight plans 960. As an example, the camera 1004 may be used to captureimages and the autonomous drone 710 hovers near the landmark 1006waiting for the landmark 1006 to perform the “land on object” gesture969. The autonomous drone 710, in response to the “land on object”gesture 969, lands on the open hand 1010.

FIG. 11 illustrates detection of a gesture, in accordance with someembodiments. The autonomous drone 710 is in a state of “performing aflight plan” for flight plan 1102, which may be circling the landmark1112 and videoing the landmark 1112. The navigation system 916 may keepthe camera facing the landmark 1112 as the autonomous drone 710 circlesthe landmark 1112. The landmark 1112 or user, who may have unlocked theautonomous drone 710, moves their arm from arm position 1 1114 to armposition 2 1110 with an open hand 1106. The gesture detection module 968analyzes images from the sensor data 912, which may be from an imagecapturing device such as camera 1004. Camera 1004 corresponds tophotography camera 650; however, the images the gesture detection module968 analyzes may be from another camera such as the navigation camera651.

Gesture detection module 968 detects this gesture 1108 as the “return toland” gesture 969. The gesture detection module 968 sends an indicationof where the object or open hand 1106 is located and indicates the typeof gesture 969 detected or instruction of what the land flight planmodule 966 is to do. The land flight plan module 966 determines a landflight plan 911, which is navigate to land 1104. The navigation system916 navigates the autonomous drone 710 on the path of navigate to land1104 and lands on the open hand 1106.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 1200 for landing an autonomous drone withgestures, in accordance with some examples. The method 1200 begins atoperation 1202 with lifting off the autonomous drone in response to aninstruction from a person. For example, the autonomous drone 710 ofFIGS. 10 and 11 is currently in flight as a result of the autonomousdrone 710 lifting off in response to an instruction from a person.

The method 1200 continues at operation 1204 continues with receivingsensor data. For example, the autonomous drone 710 of FIG. 11 maycapture an image using the camera 1004. In some examples, the sensordata 912 is first sensor data from a height detector 660, the first dataindicating the autonomous drone is a first height (height 1 1014) abovea ground, and second sensor data from the height detector 660, thesecond sensor data indicating the autonomous drone is a second height(height 2 1002) above the ground.

The method 1200 continues at operation 1206 with processing the sensordata to identify a gesture from the person that indicates that theautonomous drone is to land. For example, the gesture detection module968 detects a gesture 969 such as the “come and land” gesture 969, whichis gesture 1108 of FIG. 11 . As discussed herein the “land in place”gesture 969 may be recognized as in FIG. 10 . The navigation system 916then performs actions in response to a gesture 969 being recognized asdiscussed herein.

The method 1200 may be performed by one or more devices or apparatusesof devices discussed herein either alone or in conjunction with oneanother. For example, the autonomous drone 710, messaging system 100,smartphone 708, another device, or an apparatus of the device, mayperform the method 1200 either alone or in conjunction with one another.One or more of the operations of method 1200 may be optional. Method1200 may include one or more additional operations. One or moreoperations of method 1200 may be performed in a different order.

Machine Architecture

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic representation of the machine 1300 withinwhich instructions 1310 (e.g., software, a program, an application, anapplet, an app, or other executable code) for causing the machine 1300to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein may beexecuted. For example, the instructions 1310 may cause the machine 1300to execute any one or more of the methods described herein. Theinstructions 1310 transform the general, non-programmed machine 1300into a particular machine 1300 programmed to carry out the described andillustrated functions in the manner described. The machine 1300 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1300 may operatein the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in aserver-client network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine 1300 maycomprise, but not be limited to, a server computer, a client computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook,a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), anentertainment media system, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a mobiledevice, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch), a smart home device(e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web appliance, anetwork router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machinecapable of executing the instructions 1310, sequentially or otherwise,that specify actions to be taken by the machine 1300. Further, whileonly a single machine 1300 is illustrated, the term “machine” shall alsobe taken to include a collection of machines that individually orjointly execute the instructions 1310 to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. The machine 1300, for example, maycomprise the client device 102 or any one of a number of server devicesforming part of the messaging server system 108. In some examples, themachine 1300 may also comprise both client and server systems, withcertain operations of a particular method or algorithm being performedon the server-side and with certain operations of the particular methodor algorithm being performed on the client-side.

The machine 1300 may include processors 1304, memory 1306, andinput/output I/O components 1302, which may be configured to communicatewith each other via a bus 1340. In an example, the processors 1304(e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction SetComputing (RISC) Processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC)Processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor(DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aRadio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or anysuitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1308and a processor 1312 that execute the instructions 1310. The term“processor” is intended to include multi-core processors that maycomprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as“cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although FIG.13 shows multiple processors 1304, the machine 1300 may include a singleprocessor with a single-core, a single processor with multiple cores(e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core,multiple processors with multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory 1306 includes a main memory 1314, a static memory 1316, and astorage unit 1318, both accessible to the processors 1304 via the bus1340. The main memory 1306, the static memory 1316, and storage unit1318 store the instructions 1310 embodying any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1310 mayalso reside, completely or partially, within the main memory 1314,within the static memory 1316, within machine-readable medium 1320within the storage unit 1318, within at least one of the processors 1304(e.g., within the Processor's cache memory), or any suitable combinationthereof, during execution thereof by the machine 1300.

The I/O components 1302 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1302 that are included in a particular machine will depend onthe type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobilephones may include a touch input device or other such input mechanisms,while a headless server machine will likely not include such a touchinput device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components 1302 mayinclude many other components that are not shown in FIG. 13 . In variousexamples, the I/O components 1302 may include user output components1326 and user input components 1328. The user output components 1326 mayinclude visual components (e.g., a display such as a plasma displaypanel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acousticcomponents (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor,resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and so forth. The userinput components 1328 may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., akeyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, aphoto-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components),point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, ajoystick, a motion sensor, or another pointing instrument), tactileinput components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provideslocation and force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactile inputcomponents), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and the like.

In further examples, the I/O components 1302 may include biometriccomponents 1330, motion components 1332, environmental components 1334,or position components 1336, among a wide array of other components. Forexample, the biometric components 1330 include components to detectexpressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocalexpressions, body gestures, or eye-tracking), measure biosignals (e.g.,blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brainwaves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinalidentification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, orelectroencephalogram-based identification), and the like. The motioncomponents 1332 include acceleration sensor components (e.g.,accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensorcomponents (e.g., gyroscope).

The environmental components 1334 include, for example, one or cameras(with still image/photograph and video capabilities), illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment.

With respect to cameras, the client device 102 may have a camera systemcomprising, for example, front cameras on a front surface of the clientdevice 102 and rear cameras on a rear surface of the client device 102.The front cameras may, for example, be used to capture still images andvideo of a user of the client device 102 (e.g., “selfies”), which maythen be augmented with augmentation data (e.g., filters) describedabove. The rear cameras may, for example, be used to capture stillimages and videos in a more traditional camera mode, with these imagessimilarly being augmented with augmentation data. In addition to frontand rear cameras, the client device 102 may also include a 360° camerafor capturing 360° photographs and videos.

Further, the camera system of a client device 102 may include dual rearcameras (e.g., a primary camera as well as a depth-sensing camera), oreven triple, quad or penta rear camera configurations on the front andrear sides of the client device 102. These multiple cameras systems mayinclude a wide camera, an ultra-wide camera, a telephoto camera, a macrocamera and a depth sensor, for example.

The position components 1336 include location sensor components (e.g., aGPS receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1302 further include communication components 1338operable to couple the machine 1300 to a network 1322 or devices 1324via respective coupling or connections. For example, the communicationcomponents 1338 may include a network interface Component or anothersuitable device to interface with the network 1322. In further examples,the communication components 1338 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetoothcomponents (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1324 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB).

Moreover, the communication components 1338 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1338 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1338, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting an NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

The various memories (e.g., main memory 1314, static memory 1316, andmemory of the processors 1304) and storage unit 1318 may store one ormore sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., software) embodyingor used by any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. These instructions (e.g., the instructions 1310), when executedby processors 1304, cause various operations to implement the disclosedexamples.

The instructions 1310 may be transmitted or received over the network1322, using a transmission medium, via a network interface device (e.g.,a network interface component included in the communication components1338) and using any one of several well-known transfer protocols (e.g.,hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions 1310may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via acoupling (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices 1324.

Software Architecture

FIG. 14 is a block diagram 1400 illustrating a software architecture1404, which can be installed on any one or more of the devices describedherein. The software architecture 1404 is supported by hardware such asa machine 1402 that includes processors 1420, memory 1426, and I/Ocomponents 1438. In this example, the software architecture 1404 can beconceptualized as a stack of layers, where each layer provides aparticular functionality. The software architecture 1404 includes layerssuch as an operating system 1412, libraries 1410, frameworks 1408, andapplications 1406. Operationally, the applications 1406 invoke API calls1450 through the software stack and receive messages 1452 in response tothe API calls 1450.

The operating system 1412 manages hardware resources and provides commonservices. The operating system 1412 includes, for example, a kernel1414, services 1416, and drivers 1422. The kernel 1414 acts as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1414 provides memory management, processormanagement (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, andsecurity settings, among other functionalities. The services 1416 canprovide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers1422 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1422 can include display drivers,camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flashmemory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., USB drivers), WI-FI®drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth.

The libraries 1410 provide a common low-level infrastructure used by theapplications 1406. The libraries 1410 can include system libraries 1418(e.g., C standard library) that provide functions such as memoryallocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematicfunctions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 1410 can include APIlibraries 1424 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to supportpresentation and manipulation of various media formats such as MovingPicture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC),Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC),Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group(JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries(e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render in two dimensions (2D) andthree dimensions (3D) in a graphic content on a display), databaselibraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational databasefunctions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsingfunctionality), and the like. The libraries 1410 can also include a widevariety of other libraries 1428 to provide many other APIs to theapplications 1406.

The frameworks 1408 provide a common high-level infrastructure that isused by the applications 1406. For example, the frameworks 1408 providevarious graphical user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resourcemanagement, and high-level location services. The frameworks 1408 canprovide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be used by theapplications 1406, some of which may be specific to a particularoperating system or platform.

In an example, the applications 1406 may include a home application1436, a contacts application 1430, a browser application 1432, a bookreader application 1434, a location application 1442, a mediaapplication 1444, a messaging application 1446, a game application 1448,and a broad assortment of other applications such as a third-partyapplication 1440. The autonomous drone management 1441 system managesthe autonomous drone as disclosed in conjunction with the autonomousdrone management system 216 and herein. The applications 1406 areprograms that execute functions defined in the programs. Variousprogramming languages can be employed to create one or more of theapplications 1406, structured in a variety of manners, such asobject-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++)or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In aspecific example, the third-party application 1440 (e.g., an applicationdeveloped using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) byan entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may bemobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™,ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating system. In thisexample, the third-party application 1440 can invoke the API calls 1450provided by the operating system 1412 to facilitate functionalitydescribed herein.

Processing Components

Turning now to FIG. 15 there is shown a diagrammatic representation of aprocessing environment 1500, which includes a processor 1502, aprocessor 1506, and a processor 1508 (e.g., a GPU, CPU or combinationthereof).

The processor 1502 is shown to be coupled to a power source 1504, and toinclude (either permanently configured or temporarily instantiated)modules, namely a navigation component 1510, a gesture detectioncomponent 1512, and an imagine capturing component 1514. The navigationcomponent 1510 controls the autonomous drone for navigation. Forexample, the navigation component 1510 performs the functions describedin conjunction with navigation system 916 including responding to thedetection of a gesture, in accordance with some examples. The gesturedetecting component 1512 performs the functions related to detectinggesture 969 as is performed by the gesture detection module 968 of FIG.9 . The image capturing component 1514 managements the capturing ofimages and videos by the photography camera 650 as described herein andin conjunction with FIGS. 6-12 . The processor 1502 is a special purposeprocessor 1502 designed specifically for the autonomous drone 710, inaccordance with some examples. In some examples, the processor 1502 ispart of a motherboard with the processor 1502 running a real-timeoperating system such as a Linux®. The processor 1502 communicates withother processing circuitry that is included in the autonomous drone 710such as lower-power wireless chip 670, in accordance with some examples.

Glossary

“Carrier signal” refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by themachine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions.Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using atransmission medium via a network interface device.

“Client device” refers to any machine that interfaces to acommunications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, netbooks, laptops,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communicationdevice that a user may use to access a network.

“Communication network” refers to one or more portions of a network thatmay be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS)network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi®network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more suchnetworks. For example, a network or a portion of a network may include awireless or cellular network and the coupling may be a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM) connection, or other types of cellular or wirelesscoupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any of a varietyof types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier RadioTransmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G)networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by variousstandard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or otherdata transfer technology.

“Component” refers to a device, physical entity, or logic havingboundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs,or other technologies that provide for the partitioning ormodularization of particular processing or control functions. Componentsmay be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry outa machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions. Componentsmay constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on amachine-readable medium) or hardware components. A “hardware component”is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In variousexamples, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or agroup of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an applicationor application portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software), may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering examples in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In examples in which multiple hardware componentsare configured or instantiated at different times, communicationsbetween such hardware components may be achieved, for example, throughthe storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to whichthe multiple hardware components have access. For example, one hardwarecomponent may perform an operation and store the output of thatoperation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. Afurther hardware component may then, at a later time, access the memorydevice to retrieve and process the stored output. Hardware componentsmay also initiate communications with input or output devices, and canoperate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information). The variousoperations of example methods described herein may be performed, atleast partially, by one or more processors that are temporarilyconfigured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform therelevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, suchprocessors may constitute processor-implemented components that operateto perform one or more operations or functions described herein. As usedherein, “processor-implemented component” refers to a hardware componentimplemented using one or more processors. Similarly, the methodsdescribed herein may be at least partially processor-implemented, with aparticular processor or processors being an example of hardware. Forexample, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed byone or more processors or processor-implemented components. Moreover,the one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), with these operations being accessiblevia a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriateinterfaces (e.g., an API). The performance of certain of the operationsmay be distributed among the processors, not only residing within asingle machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In someexamples, the processors or processor-implemented components may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In otherexamples, the processors or processor-implemented components may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

“Computer-readable storage medium” refers to both machine-storage mediaand transmission media. Thus, the terms include both storagedevices/media and carrier waves/modulated data signals. The terms“machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable medium” and“device-readable medium” mean the same thing and may be usedinterchangeably in this disclosure.

“Ephemeral message” refers to a message that is accessible for atime-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be a text, an image, avideo and the like. The access time for the ephemeral message may be setby the message sender. Alternatively, the access time may be a defaultsetting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of thesetting technique, the message is transitory.

“Machine storage medium” refers to a single or multiple storage devicesand media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and associatedcaches and servers) that store executable instructions, routines anddata. The term shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limitedto, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media, includingmemory internal or external to processors. Specific examples ofmachine-storage media, computer-storage media and device-storage mediainclude non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductormemory devices, e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FPGA, andflash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks andremovable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks Theterms “machine-storage medium,” “device-storage medium,”“computer-storage medium” mean the same thing and may be usedinterchangeably in this disclosure. The terms “machine-storage media,”“computer-storage media,” and “device-storage media” specificallyexclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, and other such media, atleast some of which are covered under the term “signal medium.”

“Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” refers to a tangiblemedium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying theinstructions for execution by a machine.

“Signal medium” refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by amachine and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of software or data. Theterm “signal medium” shall be taken to include any form of a modulateddata signal, carrier wave, and so forth. The term “modulated datasignal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics setor changed in such a matter as to encode information in the signal. Theterms “transmission medium” and “signal medium” mean the same thing andmay be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of an autonomous drone comprising: aprocessor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, configure the processor to perform operations comprising:lifting off the autonomous drone in response to an instruction from aperson; receiving sensor data; and processing the sensor data toidentify a gesture from the person that indicates that the autonomousdrone is to land.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor data isfirst sensor data from a height sensor, the first sensor data indicatingthe autonomous drone is a first height above a ground, and second sensordata from the height sensor, the second sensor data indicating theautonomous drone is a second height above the ground, and wherein theoperations further comprise: in response to a difference between thefirst height and the second height being larger than a first thresholdand the second height not being larger than a second threshold,determining the sensor data indicates that the autonomous drone is toland; and landing the autonomous drone.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2wherein the operations further comprise: before the receiving the sensordata, completing a flight plan, navigating the autonomous drone to theperson, and hovering near the person.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the sensor data is an image, and wherein the operations furthercomprises: capturing the image.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein thegesture is an open hand gesture that indicates the autonomous drone isto land on an open hand of the person.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5wherein the operations further comprise: flying the autonomous drone toland on the open hand of the person.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinthe gesture indicates that the autonomous drone is to start flying to alanding site.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the gesture is a handof the person being placed under the autonomous drone, and wherein theoperations further comprise: landing the autonomous drone on the hand byflying the autonomous drone downward.
 9. The apparatus of claim 4wherein the image is a first image and wherein the operations furthercomprise: capturing a second image of a hand of the person beforecapturing the first image; and using the second image of the hand toidentify the hand of the person.
 10. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinthe image is a first image and wherein the operations further comprise:capturing a second image of a hand of the person a threshold durationafter capturing the first image; processing the second image todetermine whether the second image comprises the gesture from the personthat indicates that the autonomous drone is to land; and in response tothe second image comprising the gesture from the person, landing theautonomous drone.
 11. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the operationsfurther comprise: processing the image using a neural network toidentify the gesture.
 12. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein theoperations further comprise: processing the image to identify thegesture that indicates that the autonomous drone is to land, wherein thegesture is performed within a threshold distance of the autonomousdrone; and navigating to a landing of the autonomous drone.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the image is a first image and the gestureis a first gesture, and wherein the operations further comprise:capturing a second image; and processing the second image to identify asecond gesture from the person that indicates that the autonomous droneis to continue on a flight plan.
 14. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinthe operations further comprise: navigating the autonomous drone tohover at a height.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the image iscaptured by an image capturing device mounted horizontally relative toan axis of propellers of the autonomous drone and a height sensor ismounted vertically relative to the axis of the propellers and isdirected downward.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the operationsfurther comprise: determining a land flight plan based on a position ofthe person relative to the autonomous drone; and navigating the landflight plan based on identifying the person in subsequent imagescaptured by an image capturing device.
 17. A method performed on anapparatus of an autonomous drone, the method comprising: lifting off theautonomous drone in response to an instruction from a person; receivingsensor data; and processing the sensor data to identify a gesture fromthe person that indicates that the autonomous drone is to land.
 18. Themethod of claim 17 wherein the sensor data is first data from a heightsensor, the first data indicating the autonomous drone is a first heightabove a ground, and second data from the height sensor, the second dataindicating the autonomous drone is a second height above the ground, andwherein the method further comprises: in response to a differencebetween the first height and the second height transgressing a firstthreshold and the second height not transgressing a second threshold,determining the sensor data indicates that the autonomous drone is toland; and landing the autonomous drone.
 19. The method of claim 17wherein the sensor data is an image, and wherein the method furthercomprise: capturing the image.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium, the non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding instructions that, when executed by at least one processor ofan apparatus of an autonomous drone, cause the at least one processor toperform operations comprising: lifting off the autonomous drone inresponse to an instruction from a person; receiving sensor data; andprocessing the sensor data to identify a gesture from the person thatindicates that the autonomous drone is to land.